* A form of joke or witticism sans the ingenuity or verbal skill to have the power to evoke laughter.

* A comedic or humorous comment, concept or phrase, the comedic value of which is undetectable by anyone other than the author/teller.

* A paradoxically humourless joke which attains comedic value for reasons other than those intended.

* A joke which is so bad that even its lack of humour is not funny, but in its complete lack of any humour whatsoever and the assertion of the author/teller otherwise can be a source of comedic value to some.

related words

dillonist, dillonisms, dilloner, dillonate, dilloned, dillon

related profanities

dillweed, dillhole, dillface, dillonator

Quotes

“A dillonism is an event you've never seen, a person you've never met and a taste you've never tasted. Its a place in time and space where all the laws of the metaverse are thrown out the window and come crashing back in on you like a piece of wet cardboard”

Steve Hawkington III

“I used to think that God was mocking me, it turned out I was just one of God's dillonisms”

Pastor Richard Farthing (retired)

“I have worked as a stand up comedian for over 30yrs, and never have I seen a single comedian pull off a convincing dillonism in all my years as well as he did.”

Dallas boy Jon speaking after listening to a recording of one of Alan Dillon lectures

“...but in your pastlife could have been in the future!”

Reverend Alan Dillon

History

The first recorded history of a 'dillonism' as we know it today occurred at Roslyn Park College in Ireland. Whilst giving lectures, Alan Dillon, a man for whom the word was named, often used dillonisms in lectures to convey a concept or message or to appear smart or funny. It never achieved any of these.

Whilst Alan Dillon is the first recorded attributer of a dillonism, it is well known that the phenomenon of dillonisms has existed for many years, probably for as long as jokes and humour has. Only in recent years has this subtle form of humourless humour come to the forefront of comedy literature.

It has been suggested that many comedians begin their comedic careers by utilising the unique properties of dillonisms. Utilising the unique properties of dillonisms, you need not be funny to be comedic, but need only ascertain that whatever was said was funny to earn comedic value. This claim is in much debate by professional comedians and art of humour researchers.

Dillonisms in physics

Whilst many physics professors themselves suffer from hypodillonism, a team of researchers located on the remote islands of Krakatoa discovered a unique particle. The particle, called the “dilloradi normogenesis” or 'dillon' was a radical new form of atom which when combined with certain deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequences, genetic free radicals were produced.

Called 'dillonates' , these free-radicals caused undesired and unpredicable genetic mal-orders in mammals. In humans the only visible symptom is hypodillonism, this is the clinical name for people who suffer dillonisms.

Clinical trials

Over the years there has been little interest in the medical community regarding the hypodillonism syndrome. This lack of interest may be due in part to the relatively unknown quantities of infected.

The only clinical trial that has taken place was one to determine whether hypodillonism syndrome was or could at any point become contagious. Unfortunately the trial was pulled at the last minute, just before the results were to be released into public domain. Theories rage on about the whereabouts of the medical students who participated in the trial, the response given by the board of admissions at County Clare Heart of our Sacred Camel said “our students partake in medical trials at their own risk, and have signed a legal waiver, removing any responsibility for this incident from this institution”.

When I was at a lecture today, everything he said was either a dillonism or a lead up to a dillonism, it was like we were at some sort of dillonist convention.